Hey Hey, My My
by Buccaneers6
Summary: In an alternate universe, Ryko the Hedgehog became the commander for a Black Arms unit known as the M-Initiative, heading to the planet Mobius to take back what is rightfully theirs. While you really don't need to read the other Ryko stories, it may help in understanding the characters better.


The Black Arms were not only an aggressive race; they always remembered. Any defeat will never be forgotten, as it was a moment of time where weakness outshone strength in battle, which was unforgettable. Much like their last defeat on the planet of Mobius, where the very being grafted from Black Doom's DNA, Shadow the Hedgehog, destroyed him; sending the Black Arms fleeing the blasted planet and regrouping for another assault. The Black Arms were not done with the planet Mobius, as the Black Arms never forget.

Ryko the Hedgehog remembered the day over and over again; in his sleep, his spare time, his training, in combat. He remembered the day his father, an innocent civilian, was brutally murdered by those damn G.U.N Soldiers. He remembered them looking upon him with eyes unseen, as their goggles were hiding their presumably unforgiving eyes. They passed him over. Ryko would make them regret it. Ryko the Hedgehog would never forget.

And so, it was a perfect match.

They had found him weeping over the remains of his Father. A squad of them, ready to kill the measly Mobian as they were instructed to do so. But their leader saw something in Ryko the Hedgehog; his hate. His hate for G.U.N, his hate for the world, for everything around him. The leader, whom Ryko later knew to be Xanorn, took in Ryko and started what would later be known as the M-Initiative; one of Black Doom's last orders. More Mobians sympathetic enough and powerful enough were herded and taken back to the Black Arms, forming a squad of the most competent of the planet of Mobius called the M-Initiative, fronted by none other than Ryko the Hedgehog himself.

The M-Initiative was not well received in the beginning, but once they saw what the Mobians were capable of they were respected throughout the hive. They were a tinsy bit annoying, however, as they still did typical Mobian activities. They watched TV, played videogames, blasted music (Mobian music, to the dismay of the Black Arms; usually Rock and Heavy Metal, but the Mobians had gotten a little bit used to the music of the Black Arms) and played Mobian sports. They were a wild bunch, embracing a lustful, borderline hedonistic lifestyle, but they would always obey the commands of the hive mind when told. While they were rowdy, no one could deny their effectiveness as missions took them across the galaxy. They had seen what no other Mobian has, but of course they were feeling rather homesick.

But now, the time had come. On their massive ship, the Black Arms were ready to take the planet that rightfully belonged to them, or so they believed. Anxious shuffling and screeching could be heard all across the ship, ready to claim victory where they had once been defeated.

"Gin." said Ryko, fanning his cards out for his opponent to see, a silver echidna by the name of Iago. Iago gave a long, drawn out sigh.

"We've been playing Texas Hold Em for the last three hours. You've even won a few hands. Please, please, _please _tell me you didn't play this whole game and win some of my money believing that you were playing gin the entire time." Ryko gave a curt chuckle.

"Just got lucky, I suppose. Very, very lucky. I shouldn't use it up, though, considering the biggest day of our lives is approaching. Can we turn on some music? It'll calm the nerves for everyone before landing tomorrow." As Ryko expected, a certain member of the squad got up from the table she was sitting at and headed towards the record player. Lara the Fox was the art of the squad, knowing how to draw, write, and play instruments very well. She had red fur, like most Mobian foxes did, and always wore what is considered a punk rock attire; short skirt, aconcert t-shirts, and spiky bracelets. She spoke to Ryko as she was walking to the record player.

"Don't act like you're not nervous, Ryko. _Everyone _is, and it's perfectly normal. You do have a good point, though; I'm thinking a blend of calmness and hardness. Any suggestions?"

"_Blood Sugar Sex Magik, _Red Hot Chili Peppers. Is everyone here? Iago, Lara, Asha, Wulfgar, Calypso…where's Calypso?" Ryko frantically looked around before Asha the Hedgehog answered him.

"Where do you think she is? Outside, as always. I worry about her a lot, though I assume she's okay. Do you want me to bring her in? It's probably past time she braved up and began talking to everyone considering the fact that we've known each other for our entire lives-"

"Calm down, Asha. She's fine, as long as she's effective. I don't need complaints when were a day away from the biggest time of our lives! We need calm nerves here, people. I want to act as a sibling here before I become your commander tomorrow, and I can't do that with everyone hopped up. She's probably preparing for tomorrow, so leave her be."

Asha's blush of embarrassment was concealed by her red fur. She turned her head away and adjusted her black combat suit she always wore before sitting back and beginning to relax. Ryko gave a drawn out sigh and sat back in his chair.

"Okay. We good? Good. Now we can all relax-"

A sharp pain tore through Ryko's forehead as he squealed and hit the ground. His dark purple fur became even darker as he clutched his head in agony. The rest of the squad knew what was happening, though they could never hear the telepathic message that the hive mind was giving Ryko.

_To my quarters. NOW, _thought the current hive mind Black Skull. Ryko, having heard the message he needed to hear, slowly got up as the pain subsided within him. He began heavily panting and looked up to see, as always, everyone staring at him.

"He…has _got _to…stop doing…that." He said in between breaths. He began to slowly walk towards the door, and waved his hand over the identification system that would allow him to exit the room.

"_What is your name and where are you from?" _the system asked. It knew, of course, but Ryko had to provide the answers to leave.

"My name is Ryko the Hedgehog, from Metropolis City, Metropolis. I hold the dark gift." The door flew open at a speed that still made Ryko flinch every once in a while, and especially now.

"Hello, Commander. Please exit." Ryko did so, and the door closed behind him as he began to make his way down the corridor.

Sure enough, Calypso the Cat was meditating outside, right next to the door. Her navy blue fur seemed to gleam from the corridor lights as she sat in her position. Ryko imagined she wouldn't want to be disturbed if she did indeed know he was there so he kept walking down the corridor to the hive mind's quarters.

The Mobians had a different sleeping schedule than that of the Black Arms, and it was their hour of retire; thus, Ryko walked along an empty corridor. He took his hand off his head and adjusted his arm band, black with the symbol of the Black Arms clearly visible. It would need to be facing the hive mind as a sign of respect when he entered the quarters. He rubbed his eyes a little, as it was near Black Arms awakening, which was when the Mobians went to bed. When he opened his eyes again, he was surprised to find himself in Black Skull's quarters, facing him directly.

The quarters of the Hive Mind were made of the bones of the slain enemies of the Black Arms; a green substance that Ryko could never identify gave a dim light to the room. Black Skull sat on the gnarled Throne of Bones

Ryko quickly bowed, while Black Skull merely looked upon him. It was impossible to tell what emotions he had as his head was a literal black skull; it never changed. Purple Robes, embroidered in yellow, covered the entire rest of him, and Ryko did not have plans any time soon to find out what terrifying body lay beneath them.

"Too slow, Ryko." he said. Ryko said nothing, instead opting to look up at him.

"I was still recovering from the headache of the Dark Gift, master. My apologies."

The Dark Gift was given to every black arms commander; it not only enabled them and the hive mind to telepathically communicate, it also made them faster and stronger than the next of kin. It didn't normally present problems, but Ryko the Hedgehog was a Mobian; the gift had adverse effects on him because he was not a member of the black arms.

Black Skull merely sighed. "Ah, yes. I had momentarily forgotten about your reaction to the gift. I'm sure you will get used to it in the coming years. I apologoize, Ryko; savor the moment, as I assure you that you will not hear me say that again. Now, I assume you at least know part of why I summoned you here?" Ryko slowly got up from his bow, now getting a full look at the newly appointed hive mind. He was absolutely terrifying.

"I assume it has to do with tomorrow, master?" Black Skull nodded.

"Yes, tomorrow. You will touch down on the planet Mobius and you will conquer it. You will also kill the five deadly souls that inhabit the planet. Do you remember the five deadly souls, Ryko the Hedgehog?"

"Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of Mobius, the fastest thing alive. Sally Acorn, crown Princess of Mobius. Laoch the Hedgehog, Gerald Robotnik's ultimate lifeform 2.0, and childhood friend of mine. Nikki the Hedgehog, my sister, and deadly G.U.N assassin. Last, but certainly not least, Shadow the Hedgehog; Destroyer of Black Doom and Black Death, bane of the Black Arms, and sign of the end of days."

"Excellent. You will not brave these tasks alone, I presume? These individuals are far too dangerous for one person to handle. By the time we conquer Mobius I would like to have them dead, or captured. Any one of them on the loose could mean great danger to the operation we're about to perform. Do you understand, Ryko the Hedgehog?"

"Yes, master. I understand, though I have but one question." Black Skull remained silent for a minute, but then answered with a "Very well." Ryko cleared his throat.

"What of Eclipse the Darkling? The superbeing that you created to fight Shadow? I would assume he would be of great help during this mission to reclaim Mobius." Black Skull put his head down and gave a long, drawn out sigh.

"I have attempted to get him to come, but he still mulls over the death of the previous hive mind. He's broken, Ryko the Hedgehog, and he'll be no use to us anytime soon. I'll leave him alone for a while, but I fear that I will soon have to dispose of him. Now, enough talk; you need to get back to your bunks and retire. Do not fail me, Ryko the Hedgehog."

Ryko was about to say something else but he suddenly found himself back in the living room of his quarters. Black Skull must have teleported him there, much to the extreme annoyance of Ryko the Hedgehog. _He couldn't have done that in the first place as opposed to making my damn skull explode in front of everyone?_

Ryko was surprised to find no one in the room until he peered into the training room, seeing that it had very recently been used. His squad must have been training vigorously and gotten very tired as a result, going to bed early. Ryko smiled and headed to the bunks where, sure enough, everyone was sleeping. He slipped into his bed, though he did not know that hardly any sleep would come to him tonight.

He sat awake for hours. Just lying there, ready for the storm. He knew that sleep would be a good idea, but he also knew it wouldn't come to him. He enjoyed the quiet, however. It helped him mull over everything, getting ready for the day he'd been training for his whole life. Yes, it was nice…and then he heard the voice.

"Anxious?"

Ryko reached for the knife he always had with him, but he stopped short; he recognized the voice, and it was one that was hardly ever used. It had caught him off guard, but he gave a sigh of relief. It was merely Calypso the Cat, whom hardly ever talked.

"Yeah…yeah, I am. You?" Calypso ducked out of her bunk below him, looking up at him from her bed.

"We are all nervous, Ryko the Hedgehog. Do not feel ashamed." Calypso's first language was not Common Mobian, as she came from the eastern side of the globe, but Ryko was impressed by how well she spoke the language. Ryko had always assumed that was the reason Calypso never talked, but she was very coherent tonight.

"Well, I know, but…I'm your commander. I'm supposed to be brave, aren't I? I'm not ever supposed to be nervous. I need to make sure you guys _aren't, _aren't I? I think I did a good job, didn't I? But what about me?" Calypso chuckled.

"It is fine, Ryko the Hedgehog. The morrow holds a land we've known for a lifetime, though we have not been there for that long. Your nervousness is acceptable. I must admit, I am feeling much too anxious to sleep, unlike my comrades."

It was then that Ryko needed to talk. He needed to tell the story that everyone knew again, to let him hear himself say it_. I can't sleep so I might as well talk, right?_ He hopped down from the bed, much to Calypso's surprise.

"Do you wanna go out there? To the living room, I mean? If we can sleep, we might as well sit down and chat." Calypso gave Ryko a confused look.

"Are not you tired, Ryko the Hedgehog?" Ryko laughed a little bit at Calypso's grammatical mistake, which proved to confuse the cat even more.

"It's "aren't", Calypso. It's called a contraction, but in this case it doesn't quite work when separated. Come on, let's go out."

Ryko and Calypso moved carefully as not to wake anyone, but they both knew they wouldn't; they trained very hard, and it completely wore them out. They would get good sleep, something Ryko very much envied of them, and be prepared to the fullest extent when the time came to land tomorrow.

They both sat down in the comfortable chairs in the living room. Ryko stretched out his legs a little bit and sat in a very relaxed posture, while Calypso made sure to sit straight up in the chair, which looked a little funny due to the fluffy property the chair had. Ryko decided he had to be the one to start the conversation, and so he spoke.

"How come you never talk, Calypso? I would love to hear stories from your part of the world, as no one else here is from it, and you seem like a very interesting person." Calypso blushed a bit and adjusted herself in the seat.

"I do not think my lingual skills are up to par with everyone else's, Ryko the Hedgehog. I also fear I would have nothing interesting to say. And…" Calypso trailed off as tilted his head in confusion.

"What is it?" he said.

"Well…Wulfgar scares me." Ryko tried not to laugh at the comment, but failed, much to the embarrassment of Calypso.

Wulfgar was an ice blue Echidna from the Northern part of the world; he never told anyone exactly where, but his unusual name didn't help much. The other unusual thing about him was his size, being absolutely massive. He had at least a foot and a half on Knuckles the Echidna, who was often described as being larger than most people he encountered. He was not a tactician, instead of relying on his massiveness to overpower his foes. Calypso had a good reason to fear him only because she never talked to anyone; Ryko knew him.

"Wulfgar is a really cool guy once you get to know him, but…yea, he's huge. I wouldn't wanna fight him, although I know I could. You really should come hang out more, Calypso; I think you'd like us, at least a little bit." Calypso laughed a bit but, strangely, quickly reverted back to a serious posture.

"I'd like to ask you a question, Ryko the Hedgehog, if you do not mind. What was your last memory of Mobius?"

Ryko the Hedgehog leaned back in his chair, sighed, and began to tell his tale.

"It was of my father, dying in my arms. Of the damn G.U.N scum, looking over me, hiding behind their goggles, going into my house to find my sister and my mother…it was my sister and my mother, saying that they were going with them. I tried to tell them who did it, that they were the monsters who killed my dad, but…no. They wouldn't listen. Then…an alien came, and he took me in. He saved me, and that's why I'm here now. That's why you and everyone else are here now, I guess. That was the last memory of Mobius I had. You?"

Calypso was momentarily stunned, but regained her composure before speaking again.

"I…I am so sorry, Ryko the Hedgehog. I had heard bits and pieces before, but…never the whole thing. My last memories were of the valley near my village, where I had fled. The G.U.N soldiers had invaded, and my family told me to run. I do not know if they survived, but the next thing I know…I was saved. A member of the Black Arms had taken me, and now I am here. Ryko the Hedgehog, I know that we will succeed in our mission, and we will see Mobius again. You will get the redemption you deserve." Ryko stood silent again before speaking.

"Thanks, Calypso. We will, I know it."

Her next move caught Ryko off guard; she got out of her seat and gave him a peck on the forhead.

"Goodnight, Ryko the Hedgehog. I wish you the best of luck tomorrow." With that, she headed back towards her bunk.

Ryko was shocked for a few seconds. Why did she do that? It didn't matter, however, when the hedgehog realized that sleep was overtaking him. Ryko let it, and he drifted to sleep in the chair; tomorrow was the day it began…and the day it all ended.


End file.
